|
Letter from African American activists in solidarity with Mexican guest workers organizing against slave-like conditions
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Dear Friends,
We are writing to ask you to contribute to a strike fund for thirty Mexican "guest workers" who are courageously organizing against the slave-like conditions in the strawberry fields of Amite, Louisiana. Their boss has seized their passports, is paying them sometimes as little as $2 an hour, and has threatened them with deportation if they stretch or use the bathroom.
On Valentine’s Day, workers walked off the fields to reclaim their dignity. In solidarity, a delegation of African Americans attempted to conduct a citizen’s arrest of their boss, Charles "Bimbo" Relan, because he is violating the federal laws that define slavery, peonage, human trafficking, and servitude in the United States. We read him his rights, and told him he was violating the laws our ancestors fought for. Bimbo struck back: he was forced to return the passports but fired the workers and illegally evicted them. The workers are continuing their fight. And they need our support.
|
|
Read more...
|
|
By
GLORIA STEINEM
Published: January 8, 2008
Correction Appended
THE woman in question became a lawyer after some years as a community organizer, married a corporate lawyer and is the mother of two little girls, ages 9 and 6. Herself the daughter of a white American mother and a black African father — in this race-conscious country, she is considered black — she served as a state legislator for eight years, and became an inspirational voice for national unity.
Be honest: Do you think this is the biography of someone who could be elected to the United States Senate? After less than one term there, do you believe she could be a viable candidate to head the most powerful nation on earth?
If you answered no to either question, you’re not alone. Gender is probably the most restricting force in American life, whether the question is who must be in the kitchen or who could be in the White House. This country is way down the list of countries electing women and, according to one study, it polarizes gender roles more than the average democracy.
|
|
Read more...
|
|
by Ariel Werner
January 9, 2008
Ms. Steinem,
In your op-ed, " Women Are Never Front-Runners," you claim that a woman with Barack Obama's record, experience, and biography would not be considered a viable candidate for the presidency of the
United States
, and you call for a feminist movement in support of Hillary Clinton. You declare, "What worries me is that some women, perhaps especially younger ones, hope to deny or escape the sexual caste system." As one of the countless younger women inspired by and active in Obama's movement for change, I feel compelled to respond.
Let me begin with an expression of my gratitude. Thanks to the tireless efforts of your feminist generation, I am fortunate to have lived a life, thus far, almost entirely free of the economic, legal, and social barriers that would have prevented me from attaining the rights, benefits, or
opportunities afforded my male counterparts. I received an outstanding K-12 public school education alongside male classmates, and the female:male ratio of
Brown
University
, which I now attend, is 53:47. I have never known a time before Title IX, and my mother watched with pride over my four high school years playing Varsity Womens' Volleyball. I have applied for jobs and
internships alongside competitive male applicants and discounted gender as a factor in my ability to attain such positions. I have been blessed by the fight and courage of those of you who came efore me. Still, I realize that our fight, as women, is far from over.
|
|
Read more...
|
|
Political Scientist Says
Ascribe Newswire (January 16, 2008)
DURHAM, N.C. Jan. 16 - Latinos tend to identify more with whites than with blacks, according to preliminary findings of a
Duke
University study. This dynamic may affect the upcoming Democratic primaries, said political scientist Paula McClain.
"What you may see is that Latino voters, despite conservatism on issues of gender, will feel more comfortable voting for Hillary Clinton" said McClain, a professor of political science, public policy and African and African American Studies at Duke. "They can quickly get over the gender issue with
Clinton -- because she is white."
McClain said Obama is running "a very good campaign" on a platform of multiracial and multicultural coalition-building, but in the end "there is a question about how many Latinos will go into a voting booth and pull a lever for a black."
McClain is the lead author of two previous studies exploring the relationship between blacks and Latinos in the South: "Racial Distancing in a Southern City: Latino Immigrants' Views of Black Americans" and "Black Americans and Latino Immigrants in a Southern City."
|
|
Read more...
|
|
©2008 Irma McClaurin
“…
Down Albert Street, the main thoroughfare in Belize City, the ‘punta’ sounds of Andy Palacio and
Chico Ramos can be heard rocking the streets.” (Women of Belize: Gender and Change in Central America, p. 34).
I remember vividly finally mastering the undulating hip and shuffling feet movements that are the trade mark of punta, a dance form in Belize, Central America popularized by Andy Palacio, a local artist. On Saturday, January 19, 2008, this Belizean national treasure died at the very young age of 47.
His was an influence that resonated across many different borders inside Belize, and touched the hearts and souls of African-descended people throughout Central and South America, the Caribbean, the United States, Canada, Europe and
Africa . Andy, and his people represent the spirit of resistance, creativity and innovation that we know is part of the character of the African Diaspora. The origins of the Garifuna people are complicated, and filled with many serendipitous events, resistance, will power, and genius.
As the story goes, West African slaves believed to come from “the Yoruba, Ibo and Ashanti tribes” were shipwrecked off the coast of the
Island of
St. Vincent . They came ashore and were protected by the indigenous population of Island Caribs with whom they formed strong alliances. The Island Caribs were an amalgamation of Carib and Arawak Indians that occurred sometimes through warfare, with Arawak women often taken as war prizes. As a result, the Arawak-Carib women spoke a different language than men. This women’s language pattern survives into the present. The intermixing and intermarriage of the maroon (escaped) Africans and the Island Caribs resulted in a new people –the Garifuna— whose language drew upon its African roots mixed with Carib and Arawak. Sometimes called Karaphuna, according to one source, “ ‘Gari’ is African for food,” and “Garifuna roughly translates into ‘cassava-eating people.’” Anthropologists labeled this newest group “black Carib” as a way of distinguishing them from the original indigenous populations of
St. Vincent . This distinction would later have dire consequences. Over time, the Garifuna adopted the term Garinagu to describe themselves as a group, and Garifuna to refer to their language and culture.
|
|
Read more...
|
|
|
